The present invention relates to a facial and body massage apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a facial and body cleansing/skin exfoliation apparatus and method.
Therapeutic machines have been developed to loosen and mobilize bronchial secretions in humans; to improved blood circulation and to relax muscles. Prior to the development of such machines, hand massage and hand percussion by trained nurses or therapists would loosen bronchial secretions by the act of striking the back or chest of a patient. In order to avoid bruising and other damage to the patient while providing consistent, reliable and controlled forces to a patient's body, various types of therapeutic machines have been developed to apply vibrating or percussive forces to the body. In addition to the well-known percussion-type and oscilation-type therapeutic machines, there are therapeutic machines which employ a directional massage stroke in which the resulting force is the product of a force perpendicular to the body to loosen congestive materials, and another force component which is parallel to the body in order to mobilize congested material in a selected direction. Examples of the latter type of therapeutic apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,098,266; 4,102,334 and 4,757,806, which have been invented by one or both inventors of the present invention.
While generally related to the aforementioned therapeutic apparatus, the present invention is primarily directed to facial and body massage apparatus which involves cleansing and/or skin exfoliation to remove grime and dirt clinging to surface of the skin while also removing dead skin cells. This combined treatment both cleanses the skin while also providing light exfoliation, i.e., removal or taking off dead skin cells from the outer skin layer.
Typically, conventional facial and body cleansing/exfoliation machines use only rotary action, for example, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,908 where a portable scrubbing device incorporates a rotary scrubbing brush which is detachably mounted in a handle member that is powered by a flexible cable driven by a motor mounted in a housing unit. Rotary brushing action at one facial location, for example, can produce skin irritation, while building-up skin heat at that location. In addition, uneven wearing occurs on brush bristles or the like which results from a center hot-spot build up that also contributes to the increased skin heat at that location.
The present invention is a new and improved facial and body massage apparatus, specifically directed to skin cleansing/exfoliation, that overcomes all of the aforementioned deficiencies, while providing many new and important features and advantages, as will be discussed in detail below.